The present invention relates to a data processing method for a computer system including computers connected via a communication path to each other and computer-readable recording media for use with the computers.
Heretofore, the mobile code technology has been known as a technology for data processing in a computer system including various types of computers connected via networks to each other.
In accordance with the mobile code technology, a program code and data to be processed by the program code are transferred via a network such that the program code is executed in a computer optimal for the execution of the code so as to achieve the data processing.
As an example of the mobile code technology, there has been known the remote programming technology of the General Magic Inc. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/090,521, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,603,036.
Utilizing the remote programming technology, it is possible to transfer a program code together with data to a computer optimal for the execution thereof to accomplish the data processing. This resultantly reduce the processing load imposed on the network for the data processing.
Another example of the mobile code technology has been used in the worldwide web (WWW) in which a program code described in a particular language is transferred from a server computer of WWW via a network to a client computer thereof such that the program code is executed by the client computer. This technology has an aspect that the program need not be beforehand delivered to the client computer.
The conventional technologies described above have a feature to decrease the network load for the program execution and an aspect that the program is not required to be transferred to the client computer in advance. However, to obtain such advantages, it is necessary to provide a mobile code processing system including an interpreter capable of processing the mobile code in each computer of the prior art.
In this connection, in a network system such as the present Internet including a large number of various types of computers connected thereto, it is practically impossible to dispose the same mobile code processing system in each computer. Therefore, in the processing of data, the user of each computer is required to pay attention to the types of mobile code processing systems beforehand prepared in the computer.
Similarly, even in one mobile code processing system, it is almost impossible that the same mobile codes respectively have the same version numbers in all computers of the system. Namely, when conducting data processing, the user of each computer is required to pay attention to the mobile code versions.